4th Dec 2015

1) Always worth seeing what they are up to. Here are the 5 keys to a successful Google team –

a) Psychological safety: Can we take risks on this team without feeling insecure or embarrassed?

b) Dependability: Can we count on each other to do high quality work on time?

c) Structure & clarity: Are goals, roles, and execution plans on our team clear?

d) Meaning of work: Are we working on something that is personally important for each of us?

e) Impact of work: Do we fundamentally believe that the work we’re doing matters?

2) Has Medium emerged as the Worlds new op-ed page? Maybe so… – ‘It’s where Bono proposes a Marshall Plan for Africa, and Melinda Gates responds. Where Orange Is the New Black‘s Uzo Aduba pays tribute to a teacher who changed her life, and where director Alejandro Inarritu makes an impassioned plea  for immigration reform.’

3) The Financial Times is uncovering London’s gems as part of its Hidden Cities project with Google Maps. The site highlights recommendations for restaurants, bars and cultural hot-spots chosen by its FT Weekend editorial team, with reviews and articles from FT journalists; all available outside the paywall and also featuring in a weekend print supplement.’

4) Great fun. ‘The Old Web Today’ project. Pick a browser, a website, a date and you can step back in time.

5) Everything Apple does can be explained by this one simple question (clue – it’s do with the iPhone).

6) Why the Telharmonium was the Spotify of 1906. Invented by lawyer Thaddeus Cahill and initially known as the dynamophone, the telharmonium made use of telephone networks to transmit music from a central hub in midtown Manhattan to restaurants, hotels, and homes around the city.

7) So, this is how long it used to take to get around (without aeroplanes). This Isochronic Travel Map shows the different travelling times from London in the past.

8) Just in case you were worried. A controversial experiment sees no evidence that the universe is a hologram.

9) A spoof of how video conference calls can be in real life. Hilarious, but also worrying how much of this rings true (video).

10) Going Up…? From National Geographic – What the New York skyline could look like in 2020.

And finally, some light weekend reading/viewing –

Jeremy Clarkson explains how Amazon delivery drones will work (video).

No surprises. A study shows London selfies are the “most miserable” in the world.